Jiří Skopal

Jiří Skopal, choral conductor and music educator, was born on August 15, 1947 in Velké Losiny, Czech Republic. Skopal received his first music education from his father, Jan Skopal, a choral conductor of North Moravia’s Teachers’ Association. For his Master’s in Education, he studied in Olomouc from 1965 to 1969, and received his doctorate in 1973. In 1982, he was named Associate Professor at the Charles University in Prague, and in 1994 he became a full Professor. Even Skopal’s very first choir, which was founded at the primary and secondary school in Postřelmov, won first prize in a regional singing competition in 1972. In the years 1968–82, he worked as a vocal adviser for the North Moravia’s Teachers’ Association, and in 1971 he started another choir in Mohelnice. Since 1974, he has been teaching at the University of Hradec Králové, where from 1986–90 he was head of the music department and founded a new choral conducting course. He has authored publications on music psychology, history, and management of boy choirs, as well as theory and methodology in choral singing. In 1977, he took over the management of the choir from Josef Vrátil, and a year later, the choir changed its name to the Královéhradecký Children’s Choir Jitro. He has achieved major national and international success with this group at concerts in Europe, Asia, the United States, and Australia. He continues to work as the choir conductor and music director of Jitro. Skopal and his wife, Květa Skopalová, also founded a boy’s choir, Boni Pueri, in 1982–96. In total, Skopal has recorded 44 albums with his choirs, conducted more than 3,500 concerts, and in the year 2000, received the Primus Inter Pares award for an exceptional benefit to the culture from the Mayor of Hradec Králové. Skopal has also been a judge in national and international competitions, as well as a lecturer of conducting courses in the Czech Republic and abroad.